Cold to Committed Read online

  Gatekeeper: I handle the CRM system here. What can I help you with?

  SDR: Great! I was just calling to verify something. When you installed the CRM system, did you fully integrate the marketing automation platform? This would have been done in the back end of the system?

  Gatekeeper: Uh, you know, I’m not too sure.

  SDR: No problem. My records show that Jim is the person who set up the system. Is he in a meeting?

  As you can see, we asked the gatekeeper a specific, technical question that even the decision maker might not know the answer to. For you to use this technique, your product or service would have to have an element that’s complicated or not commonly understood. This technique works very well with The Office Manager.

  How to Know When to Let Go

  It’s important for you to also understand that you can’t win every battle; sometimes it’s just not in the cards. You may find yourself chasing a contact for months only to fail to get through the gatekeeper. Don’t feel bad giving that account to a coworker, especially if they are able to get passed that gatekeeper and book a meeting with ease. You may be surprised to find out that the missing piece was a different voice. For example, a gatekeeper might have a negative association with people who sound “alpha” over the phone. All you have to do is give that lead to a “sweet” and “charming” coworker and they will melt that gatekeeper’s heart like rainbow sherbet in the hands of a four-year-old during a California summer.

  Your time is valuable

  Don’t waste it chasing contacts that won’t convert. However, don’t just give up on an account because it’s a little hard. You need to be honest with yourself. Don’t get rid of an account because you don’t feel like putting in the effort. If you get the feeling that you aren’t getting through because of something out of your control, like how your voice sounds, then let it go. Remember that song from Frozen, “Let it go, let it go! Turn away and slam the door.” (See that, I referenced the movie Frozen, and we are talking about cold calling…)

  Come on! That’s good stuff!

  Leaving a message

  “I can take a message” is one of the most common phrases you will hear from a gatekeeper. The decision maker could be right next to them, but once they smell a salesperson, a simple, “Can I take a message?” will be used to shut you down. Don’t worry, all hope isn’t lost! There is still an opportunity to set yourself up for a conversation with the decision maker. The first technique is misdirection—agree with them and pivot. Take a look at the example below.

  Gatekeeper: Can I take a message?

  SDR: Yes, [pause] Actually I’m going to be in and out of meetings today and I’d prefer not to play phone tag. When would be a better time for me to call back?

  The use of the pause here is functionally the same as the pause that we use in our introduction. You want the gatekeeper to hear you say yes, start to shift their brain to message taking mode. When you pivot, the gatekeeper will have to quickly pivot with you and this is when you are more likely to get the truth. If you don’t sound like a typical salesperson, the gatekeeper may give you a better time to call or even transfer you on the spot.

  You may be asking yourself, “Why don’t I want to leave a message?” Well, you may be planning on calling that contact tomorrow, or later that week. Assuming the gatekeeper is giving that message to the decision maker, which is not always the case, this will create a paper trail. In the vast majority of cases, decision makers will not call you back when you leave a message with the gatekeeper. Sitting and waiting for a call is not the position that you want to be in. You always want to be proactive and that means you have to be the one calling back.

  There will be times when you are forced to leave a message and there is a way to maximize your chance of getting a call back. First, let’s think about what is happening on the other end of the line when you are leaving a message. The gatekeeper is going to get your name, company, and then ask you what the call is regarding. As you reply they will be listening and writing down what they think they need to relay. Let’s take a look at the massage many untrained prospectors leave.

  Gatekeeper: what’s your name?

  SDR: Kyle Vamvouris.

  Gatekeeper: Where are you calling from?

  SDR: ABC Company.

  Gatekeeper: What’s this about?

  SDR: Tools for marketing that help with X, Y, and Z.

  Gatekeeper: What’s your phone number?

  SDR: 777-777-7777

  That isn’t likely going to inspire someone to call back, is is? What I suggest is taking control of the note taking part of the conversation. When you explain what the call is about give enough information to force the gatekeeper to pick what to write down. By doing that they will key into words that they feel are important, which the decision maker reading their note may feel is important as well. Let’s go through an example.

  SDR: Sure, I can leave a message. Do you have a pen?

  Gatekeeper: Yes.

  SDR: Write this down. My name is Kyle Vamvouris. I’m calling regarding your customer support software. Jim set it up. My number is 777-777-7777.”

  Here is how the message will most likely come out:

  Kyle

  Our Customer Support Software

  777-777-7777

  This message is vague and may get the decision maker to call you back. The gatekeeper might still ask you some questions like, “Where are you calling from?” Simply answer them and ask a question in return. Here is an example.

  Gatekeeper: Where are you calling from?

  SDR: From ABC Company. Is your company still using software X to manage your inbound support tickets?

  Gatekeeper: Yes.

  SDR: Ok, great. I appreciate your time today.

  You should try to avoid leaving messages as much as you can because the response rate is typically very low. If you received messages from salespeople every day how many would you call back? However, you may find yourself in a situation that requires you to leave a message. Make sure to keep it short, vague, and call them back. Never sit around waiting for a response—that’s a recipe for failure.

  Leaving voicemail

  Occasionally, you will be asked if you would like to be transferred to the decision maker’s voicemail. I’m a fan of voicemails so long as you aren’t leaving one every time you call. Many times voicemails are left unchecked or may get deleted before the message is finished. Because of this, I believe it’s important to leave something brief on an infrequent basis. Let’s take a look at an example of an untrained SDR leaving a voicemail.

  SDR: Hi Jim, this is Kyle Vamvouris calling from Forusall. I’m calling because I believe we can help make your support team more efficient with our software. Give me a call at 777-777-7777.

  This voicemail doesn’t inspire the prospect to give you a call back. There are two types of voicemail scripts I think do a good job, I call them Mysterious and Valuable.

  Mysterious voicemail

  The goal of this voicemail is to pique the interest of the prospect enough to motivate them to call back. You want to give as little information as possible, but enough to build some emotion. Take a look at the example below.

  SDR: Hey Jim, it’s Kyle Vamvouris. I called your customer support line and there are a few things I noticed that I felt were worth calling you about. Again, it’s Kyle Vamvouris from ABC Company. My phone number is 777-777-7777; that’s 777-777-7777.

  This voicemail is short and easy to create for any product or service. After saying your name you go right into a short observation to build up curiosity. Once we have the prospet’s interest, we give them our name, company, and phone number. The reason why we are not giving our company name in the beginning is because that’s what most of the sales voicemails they get sound like, let’s not be like “most.”

  Valuable Voicemail

>   The valuable voicemail script is about saying how you can help and asking for a call back or a referral. We want to explain a little about how we help, and offer the decision maker to pass us on to a stakeholder. Let’s take a look at an example and then go through why it works.

  SDR: Hey Jim, it’s Kyle Vamvouris. Im reaching out because it seems like your support team may be getting overwhelmed with tickets and this increases wait times for your customers. We’ve had a lot of success in solving this problem. Again my name is Kyle Vamvouris from ABC company. My number is 777-777-7777; thats 777-777-7777. If you’re not the right person to speak with about this, feel free to connect me with that person.

  This voicemail starts with the problem that your product or service solves. By starting with this you will capture the attention of the decision maker who is aware that this is an issue. You then mention that you’ve had success solving this problem. This gives the decision maker context about what you do and why you’re calling them. At the end of the voicemail we ask for the referral. This is because the person who we are leaving this message for might not be the best person for us to speak with and we would like that person to connect us with who is. This shows that we aren’t trying to be pushy, that we really want to help and, we want to make sure we’re helping the right person.

  Not all your voicemails will be the same. Sometimes you have to improvise and that’s totally ok. For example, if you’ve left the decision maker a voicemail a week ago and plan on leaving another one, you might not want to use the exact same script. Experiment with your voicemails and track success. Stumbling on a solid voicemail with a high callback rate can be the key to blowing out your quota.

  Always Learn Something New

  If you don’t get in touch with the decision maker, that’s fine. Many people who make cold calls believe the only value of the call is to book a meeting. I would argue that if you sit down to make cold calls with only that goal, you are missing something very powerful. The information you are able to gather from the gatekeepers, stakeholders, and decision makers is invaluable. Your goal should be to learn something new from every call. The last thing you want is to spend a month chasing a lead only to realize that the company isn’t even a good fit for your product or service. You may even discover that the company is planning on evaluating solutions like yours in Q1 when they have the budget.

  Take Notes

  I always recommend writing down bits of information you believe could have an impact on your outreach efforts. Every time you call an account, ask whoever you speak with at least one of your qualification questions and write down their answer. This gives you ammunition for when you get in contact with the decision maker. Imagine how much credibility this line gives you… “I spoke to Susie at the front desk and she told me X, Y, and Z. Can you give me some insight on how you’re tackling these today?”

  Conclusion

  The gatekeeper is the first line of defense and is an area of frustration for a lot of prospectors. Using the techniques I have laid out in this chapter, you will greatly improve your chances of convincing the gatekeeper that you aren’t just some punk making a cold call. Show them that you are a person of value and make sure to treat them with the same level of respect you are expecting from them. Gatekeepers are people too. You both are crossing paths, so don’t be afraid to engage in some witty banter. Don’t spend all your time talking with gatekeepers but don’t be dismissive of them either.

  An Exercise in Successful Gatekeeper Management

  Start writing down which category you would put each gatekeeper you speak with in. Getting passed each different type of gatekeeper gets much easier with repetitive experiences. Each industry has quirks and you will master the necessary techniques with time. Always keep a record of your calls and their results.

  Practice, Practice, Practice

  Success takes practice, so don’t let a rough call with a gatekeeper bring your mood down and effect the rest of your productive time negatively. Always stay focused and do what I do when a call goes south. I say to myself “on to the next” and I pick up the phone and make another call. So, with that said...

  On to the next!

  Everything You Need to Know

  About cold calling

  Cold calling is one of the most dreaded aspects of sales. Salespeople hate it so much that some are even fired because of their own lack of effort in this area. Some say that the key to cold calling is having a great script. As if you can say a bunch of words in a specific order that will mesmerize the prospect and book a meeting. Of course, having a script is important and you should be able to book some meetings just by reciting it. However, in order to reach the high levels of success with cold calling you must be comfortable going off of your script and using more advanced techniques to get your message across.

  Some of you might think that cold calls are old-fashioned and unnecessary in today’s world of sales. Personally, I love the lie that “cold calling is dead.” It means there is less competition on the phones. If you get hired at a company where none of the sales reps make cold calls, you have an opportunity to be the top SDR in three to six months just by picking up the phone and cold calling.

  That being said…

  I wish I could tell you that reading this section of the book would be enough to transform you into the best cold caller on the planet. There are so many variables on each call that it is impossible for me to cover all of them, I’ll do my best to give you the basics and then some. There will be key fundamentals that you can tailor to your own product or service that will help you be more comfortable with what to say when you’re on the phone with a prospect.

  Learn about the prospect

  You should know that you aren’t the only SDR calling the type of prospects you are targeting. To set yourself apart you need to be able to relate. Spend time learning about your target prospect. I recommend that you reach out to a few people who you would consider decision makers at companies similar to the ones you are targeting. Ask if you can take them to lunch or coffee and learn about their day. Here are some example questions you can ask.

  What does your average day look like?

  What are some challenges that come up frequently?

  Can you tell me a story about how you overcame that challenge?

  What is your favorite part of your job?

  What is your least favorite part of your job?

  What is something that you do that you feel is important but doesn’t get noticed?

  How many cold calls do you get?

  What are the majority of those calls regarding?

  Learn as much as you can about your prospects. This way you will be able to relate to them over the phone.

  LEARN THEIR WORLD

  You want to know what words they use and how they talk with each other. Subscribing to their newsletters and joining their groups will help you gain a stronger understanding of their world. Understanding them better will make you better at speaking with them over the phone. After you have a high level understanding of your prospects world, you can start to call them.

  Structure of the Cold Call

  Every cold call is different, which is why it is so important that you adapt to every scenario. Still, there is a basic structure that most calls follow.

  the introduction

  the path

  find the gap

  close the gap

  ask for the meeting

  Here’s an overview in detail.

  The introduction

  The first make or break moment in any cold call is the introduction. If you fail to capture the attention of the decision maker during the introduction, you will lose the opportunity to explain how your product or service is a business solution for their company. I believe a cold call is about buying time. Every word you say is either costing you time with the prospect or buyin
g you more time. The introduction is the most important part of a cold call because you have not “purchased” any time yet. Let’s take a look at an introduction that fails with the decision maker.

  SDR: Hi. My name is Kyle Vamvouris and I’m calling from XYZ Company. XYZ Company is the leading provider of marketing software designed to organize your leads by quality and score them with a custom algorithm. Do you have a moment for me to explain what we do and see if it would be a good fit for your company?

  Does this introduction sound compelling? Do you think that a director of marketing would like to hear the rest of the pitch? I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the answer to both of those questions is no.

  When you begin a call, the main objective is to get the prospect to commit to speaking with us, even if it’s just for a short time. We do this by asking for some of their time in exchange for some potential value. Here is an example.

  SDR: Hi Sarah, this is Cody calling from ABC company, how are you today?

  Prospect: I’m doing well.

  SDR: That’s great to hear, I’m reaching out to you specifically as the person who runs the marketing team for your company. I’m not sure we can help each other, but I thought it was worth a quick call. Do you mind if I ask a few questions and let you decide if we should chat?

  Let’s break this down.

  Line 1: “Hi Sarah, this is Cody calling from ABC company, how are you?”

  This might be the most controversial, and widely debated sentence in all of sales theory. The debate on whether you should ask how the prospects day is has been going on for decades and I have a very simple take on it. When I greet someone I ask them how they are. I don’t feel the need to change that just because it’s someone I don’t know and I have the intention of introducing them to my product or service. There are some downsides to asking how the prospects day is going and also for not asking, so that makes it a wash in my mind. Test this approach to decide what makes you more comfortable.